Murudeshwara Temple, Beach, Lord Shiva statue

Murudeshwara is a temple town off NH 17 (now 66) near
Bhatkala. More than the temple, the town is scenic due to rock, beaches, a
giant Shiva statue and so on. During the
Aria drive, I wanted to cover Murudeshwara and drive further towards Karwar,
but family members pulled me down and had to restrict the drive till
Murudeshwara.

Main thing to see here is the temple. A giant statue of Lord
Shiva is nice to see and take pictures. Clicked Aria in the backdrop of this
statue and it appears as if Shiva is sitting on Aria.

Temple tower has some 18+ floors and by paying Rs 10 per
person, tourists can take an elevator to 18th floor and enjoy the
scenic beauty of Murudeshwara. Temple offers free lunch to divotees, while
accepting generous contribution towards “Anna Dana”

The temple town of Murudeshwara appears to be dominated by
R.N.Shetty- a business man turned politician. You’ll see RNS everywhere in
Murudeshwara- RNS Motors, RNS College, RNS Hotel and so on. A hotel which
extends into the sea is another attraction here.

Below: Sudarshana Chakra which Lord Shiva believed to have used to block the Sun so that Ravana would think it is evening... Refer Legend to know more

A beach next to the temple is full of boat operators. Depending
on your pocket there are several types of boating you can undertake. For the
adventurous ones, try Jetski at Rs 200 per round. I tried this for the first
time in life and it was fun. The ride lasted for hardly 5 mins, but I could
take control of the jetski and drive at full speed in the ocean. I couldn’t
ride solo though and was accompanied by the jetski operator.

Other boating options include bigger boats at Rs 40 per seat
or family boats (6 people) at Rs 400 per ride. On paying more, one can ride
till an island nearby, spend some time and come back. This costs Rs 1200+.